William Wilkins

William Wilkins (20 December 1779-23 June 1865) was a US Senator from Pennsylvania (D) from 4 March 1831 to 30 June 1834 (succeeding William Marks and preceding James Buchanan), a member of the US House of Representatives (D-PA 21) from 4 March 1843 to 14 February 1844 (succeeding Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan and preceding Cornelius Darragh), and Secretary of War from 15 February 1844 to 4 March 1845 (succeeding James Madison Porter and preceding William L. Marcy).

Biography
William Wilkins was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1779, and he worked as a lawyer in Pittsburgh before serving on the city council from 1816 to 1819 and in the State House from 1819 to 1820. He also served as a state and federal judge before he was elected to the US Senate in 1830. From 1834 to 1835, Wilkins served as ambassador to Russia, and he returned to private practice from 1836 to 1842 before serving in the US House of Representatives from 1843 to 1844, when he was appointed Secretary of War under President John Tyler. He returned to his private practice and state politics before dying in 1865.